31.07.2007

Manitowoc Crane up 42%

Manitowoc has reported record sales and profits for both the second quarter and at the half year point.

The improvement was once again led by the crane group which reported revenues up 42 percent to $1.49 billion, which represents 79 percent of total Manitowoc sales.

Operating income at the crane group increased by 71 percent to $216.4 million or 82 percent of group operating income.

"Manitowoc Crane Group continues to be a solid performance driver for our company," said Glen E. Tellock, Manitowoc's president and chief executive officer. "Global demand for our entire line of lifting solutions continues to be very robust. Our strategy of moving production closer to the end user continues to pay dividends as our booking rates and backlog remain strong.”

The crane group’s order book has increased by 85 percent on June 30, 2006 to $2.1 billion or over seven months.

"As we have noted in the past, we are reluctant to book orders with extended delivery dates without the ability to accurately price the product due to fluctuating supply chain costs. We have seen this issue understate the underlying strength of lifting equipment demand at other times during this up- cycle as well," Tellock said.

Manitowoc Company.

The results for the Manitowoc Company as a whole, which includes food service equipment and Shipbuilding included revenues for the first six months of $1.88 billion, an increase of 36 percent on the same period last year.

Operating income rose by 70 percent to $237 million while net earnings jumped 225 percent to $161.5 million.